[greyscalefade]

Hi all! CEVA is delivering my Samsung PN50A550 tomorrow morning (3 days early, mind you!) and I begin my first foray into HD.


Having said that, I plan on using my audio receiver instead of the on-board speakers, but am wondering how I should connect my myriad devices? My receiver is a bit older and has no HDMI switching capabilities.


My assumption is that I can connect everything directly to the TV itself using the various inputs (mostly HDMI), and then use the single optical OUT from the TV to connect to my receiver for audio. That way I can leave my receiver on "VIDEO2" and switch inputs on the TV.


Am I wrong in assuming I can do this? Is that what the optical output on the TV is for?


Thanks!!

 

[daniel'son]

.. from my understanding & reading thru the owner's manual, the optical will only pass 2-channel sound (except OTA), so you'll probably need to run a direct line into the receiver from the source.

 

[greyscalefade]

Ouch. That's a bummer since my receiver has no HDMI input. Looks like a new receiver is on my list. This stuff gets expensive fast!

 

[greyscalefade]

• 5.1CH audio is possible when the TV is connected to an external device

supporting 5.1CH.


• Each Digital Audio System has a different back panel configuration.


• When the receiver (home theater) is set to On, you can hear sound output from

the TV’s Optical jack. When the TV is displaying a DTV(air) signal, the TV will send

out 5.1 channel sound to the Home theater receiver. When the source is a digital

component such as a DVD and is connected to the TV via HDMI, only 2 channel

sound will be heard from the Home Theater receiver.

If you want to hear 5.1 channel audio, connect the DIGITAL AUDIO OUT

(OPTICAL) jack on the DVD player or Cable/Satellite Box directly to an Amplifier or

Home Theater, not the TV.


You're right - it will only output 5.1 from Digital TV but not from an HDMI source. WHY? That seems a bit ghetto and is honestly a bit frustrating. That means until I shell out another $500 for a new receiver I have to watch Blu-Ray movies without surround sound.


*SIGH*

*** Update ***

Well I did my research, and it really does make sense since my a/v receiver could more or less qualify as "legacy" equipment. I realized it's standard for televisions to mix down 5.1 and above audio to 2CH before outputting, and very few (if any) actually do 5.1 pass-thru. I'm going to attempt using optical out from my PS3 for 5.1 (I don't care about lossless audio... yet, that is!) and use the HDMI for video only. It's my only HD source right now (I don't have cable yet, etc) so I don't have to worry about a switcher.


Time to figure out the best receiver to buy

 

[bluewaves]

The digital out to your reciever will make you happy for a while no need o go out and buy a new one right away.

 

[daniel'son]



Quote:
Originally Posted by bluewaves /forum/post/14323563


The digital out to your reciever will make you happy for a while no need o go out and buy a new one right away.

.. plus you can pick-up some cheap/quality cables from monoprice, one of the Forum sponsors at top of browser.

 

[bobbis]

I ran RCA's from my 550 to my old school pre-amp and it sounds great.

 

[discopaul]

The digital audio out should be the same regardless of whether it's optical or rca cable.